Unused hospital theatre closes

Tuesday 2 November 2010 10:35 BST

An operating theatre opened five years ago in a £12.3million hospital has been closed without treating a single patient.

The £600,000 Fryatt Hospital and Mayflower Medical Centre in Harwich, Essex, was dogged by problems, including trouble with its X-ray department. It was built for minor procedures such as foot operations.

North East Essex Primary Care Trust, which runs the site, admitted the theatre will never be used. Its chief executive, Matt Bushell, blamed changes in patient safety rules that meant the theatre was no longer "viable".